Woman cleared by Somali appeal court after alleged rape

AN appeals court in Somalia has acquitted a woman convicted of defaming the
government after she alleged she was raped by security forces.

Judge Mohamed Hassan Ali, presiding at the Mogadishu appeals court, said there
was not enough evidence to substantiate the conviction.

In February, a court had sentenced the woman to one year in prison after
medical evidence indicated that she had not been raped. At the time, some
experts questioned whether Somalia had the medical expertise to make that
kind of judgement.

A journalist who interviewed the woman, and was tried alongside her, had his
sentence reduced from one year to six months.

The February verdict against the two provoked international outcry from human
rights groups, and Human Rights Watch said it was not satisfied with the
appeals court’s decision.

Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said “the court of
appeals missed a chance to right